The Chevy Volt - Production increase?
GM are claiming that they are upping production of the Chevy Volt by 50% to 45,00 in 2012. But is it just PR Flim-Flam?
Chevrolet recently opened the order book for its ‘company-saving’ range extender vehicle that is the Chevy Volt. And the price was not too stupid at around $41,000, although that still seems an awful lot of money for a car of the size and specification of the Volt. But at least the Chevy Volt gets an 8 year battery warranty so at least the costs when the batteries fail fall back on GM – and the US taxpayer – and not the poor owner.
And now Chevy are announcing – to tie in with a visit to the Volt line by Obama – that they are going to increase production of the Volt by 50% in 2012, from a proposed 30,000 cars to 45,000.
Is this increase in response to what seems like a strong degree of interest in the Volt – Chevy say they have had 25,000 join the ‘Chevy Volt Enthusiast List’ – or is this a rather disingenuos statement to throw a halo of green-ness across the Obama administration?
On the face of it, the announcement of an increase of 50% in production within two years is great news for GM. But is it really an increase of 50%, or have GM simply dropped their proposed build target recently to make it look as if the Volt is exceeding all estimates?
Back in 2007 Bloomberg were reporting that GM intended building 60,000 Volts a year by 2010. As late as this time last year GM were saying that although they would only build 10,000 Volts in 2011 (and a handful in 2010) they would build 60,000 in 2012. The same number they’re claiming today as a ‘50% increase in production’.
All sound like PR Flim-Flam to us.
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